Piano-action and touch-regu lator therefor



N0. 6|9,964. Patented Feb. 2|, |899.

F.w. KRINGEL. mno AcTmN Ann rouen nEsuLATon THEnEFun.

lApplication le'd Sept. 24, 1897.7

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

No Model.)

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No. 619,964. y Patented Feb. 2|, |899.

F. w. KmNGEL.

PIANO ACTION AND TOUCH REGULATOR THEREFUR.

(A icmion flied Sept. 24, 1897,)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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TN: sums PETERS co.. PMOTQLITHQ., WASHINGTON. n. c:4

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK IV. KRINGEL, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

PIANO-ACTION AND TOUCH-REGULATOR THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 619,964, dated February 21, 1899. Application filed September 24, 1897. Serial No. 652,910. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK W. KRINGEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Piano-Actions and Touch-Regulators Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide a perfect repeating action .applicable to upright pianos. Another object is to provide superior means for regulating the touch of piano-actions of all kinds.

In carrying out this invention one object is to throw the jack back under the hammerbutt instantly after the key has begun to rise, so that the blow can be repeated with very slight movement of the key.

Another object is to let the hammer rest upon the jack and not on a rail as in the former upright action, thus to avoid loss of motion which occurs with the former upright action when the bushings become compressed.

My invention differs from former upright piano-actions in that I provide a hammerbalance spring, which when the key is released supports the hammer, so as to enable the jack to be thrown under the hammer the instant the key begins to rise. Said hammer-balance spring keeps the hammer in a balanced position. It rests upon a movable spring-support which is pivot-ally connected with and is carried by the jack-rocker, and which support is provided with a hook to pull down the hammer when the key is released.

Preferably the movable support is formed of a spring which is fixed to the jack and has a hook to pull down the hammer when the key is released. The spring is preferably formed of a wire bent at the end to form the hook and bent just below the hook to form a loop into which the free end of the hammerbalance spring is hooked, and the lower end of the spring-support is fastened to the jack near the pivot, and the intermediate portion is flattened to give the proper resiliency for service as a jack-spring. In this form one pivot serves for the jack and for the hammerbalance spring-support, and the spring-support mounted on the Jack and held by the hammer-balance spring constitutes the jackspring.

lNIy invention may be applied in various ways, and the supportmay be pivoted to the jack-rocker independent of the jack; but such forms are more complicated and expensive, and I deem them less desirable than the simpler form in which the hammer-balance spring-support takes the place of the jackspring and constitutes a combined springsupport, jack-spring, and hammer-retractor carried by the jack.

The touch -regulator constitutes an irnprovement upon myinvention patented to me in United States Letters Patent No. 517,951, dated April 10, 1994, and comprises a weighted lever pivoted to a moving part of the action (for example, the key, the abstract, or the jack-rocker)` and a movable fulcrum for the lever adapted to move along the lever toward and from its pivot to increase and diminish the effect of the weight upon said moving part of the action. The purpose of this improvement is to reduce the friction of the movement for regulating the touch.

My invention includes the parts and combinations described and claimed herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a piano-action embodying my invention in one mode of its application for an upright piano. This is the form which I regard preferable because of its simplicity, cheapness, and convenience. Dotted lines indicate the position of parts when the hammer has struck the string and also when it has rebounded from the string. The bracket is broken away j ust below the j ack-rocker for clearness of illustration. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan on line 2 2, Fig. 1, enlarged. Fig. 3 is a fragmental plan sectioned on line 8 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing one of the less-preferred forms in which my invention with relation to the hammer-balance may be applied. Fig. 5 is a fragmental side elevation, partly in section, on the mid-line of the jack, showing another form of my invention with relation to the hammer-balance. Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 5, sectioned on line 6 (i. Fig. 7 shows the regulator as applied to a short action. Fig. 8 shows the regulator as applied to a grand piano.

In the several views, A A A", respectively, indicate a hammer-balance spring arranged to support the hammer, thereby to allow the jack to be thrown under the heel of the hammer-butt the instant the finger releases the key.

B B D" in the several views, respectively, indicate a movable support for such spring.

C indicates the hammer.

In the form shown in Fig. 1 B is a combined spring-support, jackspring, and hammer-retractor and is carried by the jack D.

My invention includes the combination of the hammer C, the hammer-balance spring, the movable spring-support for such spring, the jack, and means for moving the jack and the spring-support. Such j ack-movin g means are provided in or by the jack-rocker E and the usual key J and its connections.

In Fig. 5 the jack Dl constitutes the springsupport.

rlhe jack in each insta-nce is pivoted to the jack-rocker E in the ordinary manner, and in the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5 it is to be understood that the ordinary jack-spring is arranged to throw the jack under the hammerheel, so that the jack will throw the hammer whenever the key is struck. This j ack-spring is shown at F in Fig. 4, but is omitted from Fig. 5 by reason of the contracted view.

The spring-support may be pivoted to the rocker either independently of or by means of the jack and is provided with a hammer-retracting catch arranged to engage the hammer to retract it. This catch is indicated by b in Figs. l and 4. and by d in Figs. 5 and G. The ham merbalance spring is connected with the hammer and with the spring-support, and its tension is such as to balance the hammer when the key is released and the jack thrown out from under the heel and to hold the hammer sulliciently balanced to allow the jack to be at once pushed back again under the heel by the jack-spring, which spring in Fig. 4 is indicated at F and in Fig. l is formed of the wire B when held by the hammer-balance spring A. The hammerbalance spring may be fastened to the body of the hammer-butt c, as indicated in Fig. i, or it may be fastened to the projecting stop c', as indicated in Figs. l and 5, and the spring-support may be carried by the jack, as shown at B in Fig. l, or may be separate from the jack, as shown at B/ in Fig. 4, crit may be embodied in the jack, as shown at D" in Fig. 5. In Fig. 5 the catch which retracts the hammer is shown at d, being a shoulder in the jack which when the key is released pulls down the wire c,which is fastened to the hammer-butt.

b indicates the flattened portion of the spring-support, and b indicates the bend in the support 'to hold the hammerbalance spring.

Care is to be taken in mounting and proportioning the several parts that the pivot e,

which pivots the hammer-retracting device to the jack-rocker, will move with the same speed as the point 0 on the hammer-butt or part projecting therefrom with which the hammer-retracting device engages to retract the hammer. Care is also taken to so arrange the parts that the tension of the hammerbalance spring A, A', or A" will decrease as the hammer is thrown toward the string. This is done in various ways. Iu Fig. l, since the spring-support is carried by the jack and moves at the same speed with the jack, the hammer-balance spring is fastened to the projecting part or stop c of the hammer-butt and extends thence toward the spring-support which is between it and the jack and also between it and the pivot cH of the hammer-butt, and the tendency of the spring A is to press down upon the hammer-support at a. The jack engages and operates upon the hammer-butt at a point which is closer to the pivot c" than the point a at which the sprin g is fastened, and this causes the point a to move upward with greater speed than the ham mer-support B, so that the tension of the spring A decreases as the ham mer approaches the string.

In the form shown in Fig. i the spring-support is pivoted at a diierent place on the rocker, and therefore the hammer-balance spring is fastened to the hammer-butt aud extends outward beyond the jack to rest upon the spring-support. The action of the balance-spring when thchammer approaches the spring is the same in both forms.

By the construction and arrangement of parts which I have shown I provide abalance for the hammer which will vary in power proportionatcly with the weight to be balanced, so that the spring will be just strong enough to support the hammer suiliciently to allow the jack to be thrown under the hammerbutt, but not to exert sufficient force upon the hammer to throw it against the string. In practical operation the rebound from the heavy blow will throw the hammer back, so as to increase the tension of the ham mer-balance spring so much that it will return the hammer toward the spring after the back-catch H releases the stop c; but this tension is not sufficient to throw the hammer against the string, because the tension decreases as the hammer approaches the string, and when the jack is thrown under the hammer-butt itintercepts the hammer-butt and acts as a stop therefor. I have arranged the spring-support to move at the same time the jack moves, so that the hammer will not be thrown by the spring away from the jack, and I provide for the increase of tension of the spring when the jack falls, so that the spring will delicately balance the hammer practically at any point the hammer is released by the back-catch. This arrangement provides for greater delicacy of touch than would otherwise be obtained-that is to say, I have provided for increasing and decreasing the tension of the spring in proportion to the increase and decrease of the leverage ot the hammer as it recedes from and approaches the vertical. B y the arrangement shown the spring' decreases IOO IIC

its tension as the hammer rises, because the spring support at its connection with the jack-rocker moves slower than the hammerbalance spring at its connection with the hammer-butt or part projecting therefrom, and on the return of the hammer the tension of the spring increases in proportion to the increase of the leverage of the hammer as the center of gravity thereof recedes from a vertical drawn from the pivot of the hammer. In the preferred form shown in Figs. l and 2 the movable spring-support B is formed of a spring the lower end of which is fixed to the lower end of the jack and the upper end of which support is bent over to form a hook or arm b to catch upon the hammer-butt, and the hammer-balance spring A is fastened to a projection c of the hammer-butt, preferably on the under side thereof, so that the projection and the hammer-butt will protect the hammer-balance spring and its support. The part of the hook b which engages the point c'" on the hammer-butt to retract the hammer is normally in line with the axis of the jack, so that it moves with the same speed as the jack when the jack moves endwise, and the spring-support B, being carried by the jack, carries the hook a of the sprin g A upward when the jack is thrown upward by the rocker E; but the fixed end a' ofthe hammerbalance spring A is farther from the hammerpivot c than is the supporting-hook c, so that when the hammer is thrown up by the jack the tension of the hammer-balance spring A is lessened, and said spring can thus be readily made to have a tension corresponding to the leverage of the hammer, so that the hammer-butt will always rest lightly on the jack except when the key is fully depressed to throw the jack out from the hammer-butt.

The connection at d between the springsupport and the hammer-balance spring is above a right line drawn between the hammer-pivot c" and the fixed end a of the hammerbalance spring. On account of this arrangement the spring A advances with a greater speed upward than the point a of the spring l3,with a consequent decrease in sprin gtension of the spring A, and conversely with an increase of tension upon the descent ofthe action after the hammer-rebound, which, together with the location of the point of contact of springs A and B above the right line described, results in the increased tension of the combined jack-spring and spring-support B upon the descent of the hammer after the key has been somewhat released by the finger. The weight of the touch will remain the same throughout the entire movement of the key. .I ust as much weight is required to depress the key at the end of its movement as at the beginning. When the jack is thrown out from under the hammer-butt, it increases the tension of the spring-support B, which operates to return the jack to its pesitionber ncath the hammer-butt, so that the instant the key is released the jack is returned beneath the hammer-butt, and the stroke of the hammer can at once be repeated.

In practice when the key is struck it throws the jack-rocker E upward and the jack acts i against the hamm er-heel in the ordinary way to throw the hammer from the position marked l to strike the string, as shown in dotted lines at 2. The regulating-button Gr intercepts the jack and withdraws it from the hammer-heel before the end of the stroke. After the stroke the hammer rebounds into the position shown in dotted lines and marked 3 and the backstop c' is caught by the back-catch II. This operation just described is the same as that common to upright actions; but at the saine movement of the jack rocker the springsupport B, B', or D", as the case may be, has been carried up, thus holding the hammerbalance spring ready to balance the hammer. Then the hammer is thus held, any release of the key will retract the back-catch H and withdraw the jack from the regulatingbutton G. Then the hammer-balance spring A (A or A) will support the hammer and allow the spring B (or the spring F) to throw the jack underneath the hammer-heel ready foranother blow, and such blow can be repeated almost instantly and without allowing the hammer to fall back any farther than is required to give the requisite force to the blow. This action enables the performer to repeat the note with great rapidity and as softly as desired, because the hammer does not have to move through a long path, and therefore the speed of the repetition does not necessitate a forcible blow on the string and a consequently loud note, as is the case with the ordinary upright action. When the key is released, the hammer-retracting catch b engages the buffi ng c" and retracts the hammer.

In the form shown in Fig. 5 the hammerbalance spring A" is attached tothe jack D" by the swing et", which is glued or otherwise fastened to the jack, and the hammer-retracting projection or stop 0"", which is formed of a wire, extends beneath a shoulder d on the jack. The wire c'"' projects into a slot d' in the jack, and the spring A also extends through this slot. It is to be understood that the hammer-balance springs may be placed in different positions, as suggested by the different views.

When it is desired to release the hammer from the jack-rocker, the hook of the hammer-balance spring can be lifted from the spring-support and the spring-support be thrown back out of the Way, thus making the action very convenient to take apart.

K indicates the touch-regulating weightlever, pivoted at one end by a pivot 7o to a moving part of the action. In Fig. 1 it is shown pivoted to the abstract L. In Fig. 7 it is shown pivoted to the jack-rocker E. In Fig. 8 it is shown pivoted to the key J. By preference the free end and main body of the lever K is formed of a bar k', of lead or other heavy material, and the portion 7o", through ICO IIO

which the pivot passes, is preferably made of wood. The wooden and leaden parts 7o" and 7s' are fastened together by a dowel 7d", one end of which is screw-threaded to screw into the wood, the leaden portion 7a of the lever being cast on the other end of the dowel.

M indicates a movable fulcrum for the lever, adapted to move along the lever to increase and decrease the effect of t-he weight upon the action-that is to say, when the f ulcrum is at the end of the weight-lever farthest from the pivot 7.; the weight makes the action heavy, and as the fulcrum M is moved toward the pivot 7U' the action is lightened.

N` indicates a handle operatively connected with the movable fulcrum to move the same. rlhe connection between the handle N and the fulcrum M may be made in many various ways, only one of which I have illustrated.

O indicates a lever pivoted to the handle N by a pivot n and having at its other end a toothed segment P to engage a rack m, which is fastened to the movable fulcrum M.

The movable fulcrum M is continuous throughout the length of the piano-action in the form of a bar resting in horizontal slots q, cast in the action-brackets Q, the said brackets in this respect being the same as those patented to me in United States Letters Patent for repeating action and touch-regulator, No. 517,051, dated April l0, 1894. For convenience and accuracy of movement a suitable number of toothed segments P are carried by the lever O. Preferably there is a segment for each bracket, and these segments are connected together and to the lever O by the rod R, which is journaled iu the brackets and to which the lever O and the segments P are rigidly xed. To regulate the touch, the pianist will lift the handleN from the notched way S and move the handle to throw the fulcrum in the direction necessary to produce the desired weight of touch. This movement of the handle N swings the lever O and causes the racks P to slide the fulcrum M toward or from the pivot 7o, as the case may be, to lighten or increase the weight of the touch.

m indicates a guard fixed to and carried by the movable fulcrum M above the weight-levers K to prevent them from flying up from the fulcrum when a heavy blow is struck.

n indicates bufiing for the various movable parts.

\Vhen the regulator-weight is fastened to the key, care must be taken to locate the pivot i; substantially in a Vertical drawn from the point V,where the abstract or jack-rocker rests on the key, so that the effect of the weights respectively will be the same upon both black and white keys.

Now, having described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the hammer; the jack-rocker; the jack pivoted to the rocker and arranged to throw the hammer; aspringsupport pivotally connected with the rocker and provided with a hammer-retractin g catch arranged to engage the hammer to retract it; and a hammer-balance spring connected with the hammer and with the spring-support.

2. The combination of the hammer; thc jack-rocker; the jack pivoted to the rocker and arranged to throw the hammer; a combined spring-support jack-spring and hammer-retractor carried by the jack; and a hammer-balance spring connected with the hammer and with the spring-support.

3. A piano-touch regulator comprising a weight-lever pivoted to a moving part of the action and a movable fulcrum for the lever adapted to move along the lever to increase and decrease the eifect of the weight upon the action.

et. The combination of a piano-action; a weight-lever pivoted to a moving part of the action; a movable fulcrum for the lever adapted to move along the lever to increase and decrease the effect of the weight upon the action, and having a rack fastened to the fulcrum a lever with an arc having cogs meshing with the rack; and means for moving the lever.

5. The combination of a piano-action; a weight-lever pivoted to a moving part of the action; a movable fulcrum for the lever adapted to move along the lever to increase and decrease the eifect of the weight upon the action; means for moving such fulcrum; and a guard arranged above the fulcrum to retain the lever in place upon the fulcrnm.

6. The combination of a piano-action; thc piano-brackets respectively provided with a horizontal slot; a movable fulcrum bar mounted in such slot; weight-levers for the respective keys, and pivoted respectively to moving parts of the action and resting upon the fulcrum-bar; one or more racks fastened to the lfulcrum-bar with toothed segments meshing in such racks and carried by a rod journaled in the brackets; and suitable means for partially rotating the rod.

7. The combination of a pivoted hammer; a hammer-balance spring connected with the hammer; aspring-support connected with the hammer-balance spring at a point which is above a right line drawn from the hammerpivot to the point of attachment where the balance-spring is connected with the hammer; and the jack engaging the hammer between such point of attachment and the hammerpivot.

F. lV. KRINGEL. lVitnesses:

JAMES R. TowNsEND, I. ToWNsEND.

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